We started a dinner party circle with the other couples in our groups of friends-- we take turns hosting each other.
Previously everyone had gone out for dinners, but it turns out all it took was one of them stopping by for lunch, adoring our cooking, and the ball just started rolling. It's just that no one had considered breaking out of the 'go out for a drink' mode before.
They still go out and spend far more than we do, and we'll occasionally accept an invitation to join them, but... this lets us see our friends nearly as often as everyone's busy schedules allow, all without breaking the bank. If schedules loosen up, we might set up a board game night. Settlers of Catan is really just the gateway drug for a whole world of games, some are which are free for the printing! (For example, I've been meaning to try Cheapass Games' "Kill Dr. Lucky," because I'm a bad person and it looks funny.)